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22Jul12
UN sends more senior officials to Syria
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday that he was "deeply distressed" by the rising death toll in Syria. He also added that he was sending senior officials to help assess the situation there.
Ban Ki-moon says, "The United Nations remains actively engaged and fully mobilised. I'm sending my under secretary general for peacekeeping operations, Mr. Herve Ladsous, to Syria to assess the situation, as well as the top UN military advisor, General(Babacar) Gaye, to lead UNSMIS (United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria) in this critical phase.
I urge all the parties in Syria, government and opposition forces, to stop armed violence without any condition. The extension of UNSMIS' mandate for only 30 days is a strong signal that the onus is, above all, on the parties and with the Syrian government, in the first place, who must stop the killing and use of heavy weapons against population centres."
Ban's comments comes a day after the UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution renewing the 300-strong UN observer force in Syria for 30 days.
Members of the Security Council agreed the mission could be extended further if the use of heavy weapons ends and fighting eases. The resolution is a lifeline for the unarmed observers who were sent to Syria three months ago to watch over the implementation of international envoy Kofi Annan's flailing six-point peace plan.
The UN secretary general suggested earlier that the future target of the mission should focus on the political transition in Syria.
[Source: Xinhua, Beijing, 22Jul12]
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